Cannon

11

She sat with her knees up to her face. She was breathing lightly, which was a good sign. She looked at him, an expression of concern coming over her. Her eyes were the perfect shade of crystal blue. He felt himself getting lost in them, so he turned away.

“What do you mean?” Ryver asked.

“About what?” Cannon replied.

“You said the military wasn’t your business anymore? So what do you do?”

His brows raised. “Besides saving doctors who get themselves kidnapped despite their good intentions to help?”

She rolled her eyes. “Okay, so you’re an old-fashioned knight in shiny camo.”

He chuckled. “No. Just your everyday mercenary.” He snapped his jaw shut. He hadn’t meant to tell her that. What would she think of him now? Did he want to tell her about his past if she asked? s**t, why did he care what she thought about him? It wasn’t like he cared, right?

She raised her brows and leaned in. “A merc, huh? Do you have any family? Aren’t they worried about you? I always worried about my dad when he left home when I was a kid.”

Cannon shook his head. “No, it’s just me now. I had family biologically, of course, but I lost them ages ago. I’m used to living alone. A lot of dragon shifters are.”

Cannon realized he had just confessed to her of his shifter status. He whipped his head toward her out of fear, but her look never wavered.

Her eyes were wide with awe. “It must be something to be able to shift. It’s always interested me.”

“Have you ever met a shifter?”

Ryver shook her head. “I’ve heard about them, like everyone else, but never really interacted. You seem fine so far.” She grinned widely. She looked just as beautiful as ever, and Cannon realized he was liking her more than he needed. Emotions he didn’t want to acknowledge were growing with every smile she gave him. And then there was the tiny whisper he kept ignoring coming from his dragon. A whisper growing louder by the second.

She smelled like waterlilies and cinnamon.

Without another word, she reached out a hand to touch his face. Electricity zapped through his body, an extreme shudder that almost made his muscles seize. The whisper grew into a roar. Mine. A scary but hopeful thought crossed his mind – was she his mate? How had he had noticed that? All the years of having his dragon silenced must have made it take longer for him to connect with Cannon enough to let him know this was their mate. f**k. Holy s**t. Ryver was his mate. The general’s daughter was his mate. His. Mate. And with every second that went by, the need to protect and keep her made his bond with his dragon stronger. He inhaled and her scent filled his lungs and desire pounded in his blood. Mine. This made deserting mankind a bit more difficult.

His heart pounded in his chest, and she ran a finger over the scar on his forehead. “It must be hard to be alone a lot of the time.”

Cannon nodded, mesmerized by her voice and touch. He found himself leaning forward to get closer to her.

“I’ve been alone too,” she whispered. “I find it easier to be alone. You can’t be hurt or hurt anyone else that way.” She was leaning close to him, and he felt them both move like magnets toward one another. The kiss was soft and light, like wind over water.

How could this be? How was he supposed to deal with this? Cannon felt the dragon inside shake to be realized, to take her on, to make her his. But his conscious-self shoved it down – there was a mission to be accomplished. Not yet. f**k. It should be not ever, but now everything changed. Ryver. His Ryver.

Cannon pulled away before the kiss could grow more intense. Ryver looked confused and stared at him with her brows furrowed.

“We should get some food and then some rest. We don’t know where the militias are at this point.” He shot up from his seated position and walked toward the door.

“Yeah, you’re probably right,” Cannon heard Ryver say, her voice full of disappointment, as he left to retrieve their food. He cursed himself and their predicament.

CANNON

Though it seemed to Cannon that time had stopped when their lips connected, he knew, with alarming clarity, that they could not stay put. It was far too dangerous. They had to keep moving. He had to keep her safe.

After quickly breaking camp, and being careful to obliterate any traces they had ever been there, they set off walking at a brisk pace. He sensed that Ryver would have preferred to walk slower, but that would only be giving themselves up on a platter. He wanted to pick her up and carry her again, but she had already rejected the idea when he’d asked her not more than a few minutes ago.

Cannon was on his own with a woman who drove him to emotion. That was fine with him – as long as he could keep his head straight.

Sure enough, his instincts about a hasty departure proved correct. The night was already well advanced, and his night vision was on high alert. Ryver walked in concentrated silence behind. Looking back, Cannon shot her a reassuring grin. The trouble was, he wasn’t sure she could see it.

And that’s when they attacked. One split second of letting his guard down was the exact moment that a flurry of bullets blazed inches from them, tearing into the nearest tree. White, pulpy tree innards billowed out in a grotesque parody of his own body were he to have been only a touch farther along the path.

Cannon didn’t even blink. In one swift motion, he grabbed Ryver by the shoulders and thrust her to the ground, letting the thick underbrush aid in concealing her from further gunfire.

The bullets continued but only tore apart the surrounding trees and plants due to Cannon's quick movements. Any animals hiding in the leaves had long since vanished, leaving only the sound of searing metal.